The many myths about gay people

Reading the letter abouT gays and the Boy Scouts of America that appeared in The Vindicator on May 10 conjured up an old but still valid saying: “The only thing worse than ignorance is knowing a lot of stuff that ain’t so.” The missive’s writer merits an “A” for sincerity but an “F” for wrong beliefs about homosexuality.

This controversy is personal for me because I have had two praiseworthy gay relatives, both of honorable character and worthy of respect. My uncle Tom was a quiet man who served in the U. S. Army during World War II and then became a university professor. My cousin Bob managed a retirement facility in California, where he was much beloved by the residents. Growing up, I eventually recognized the clash between what I saw in these two kinfolk and the stereotypes of the day.

Which side is saying things today that “ain’t so?” Well, let’s look at the May 10 letter. It contains numerous whoppers, but the one that leaps off the page is this: “Since these Scout leaders were attracted to young boys, we can assume they were homosexuals.” Wrong, wrong, wrong! Being gay is an inborn trait whose bearers ask only to live in peace with their neighbors. Overt pedophilia is criminal behavior. The two rarely coexist. Ergo, there is no problem if “we are constantly assured that the majority of homosexual men are not pedophiles.”

It is time to stop obsessing about things that ain’t so and come to terms with reality: Gays present no threat to the moral values and the social benefits of the Boy Scouts of America, its members or its leaders. Let us hope and pray that the organization will soon give the present turmoil a decent burial and move into the future with a new sense of its purposes and its values to our nation’s boys and men.